Alexandrov Ensemble: The 'Red Army' choir loved by Russia

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

On Tuesday, December 27, members of Russia's Emergency Ministry pack a flight recorder recovered from a Russian military plane that crashed Sunday into the Black Sea with 92 people aboard. Russia's transport minister said it was assumed the plane had crashed due to technical malfunction or pilot error -- not terrorism.

Hide Caption

1 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Emergency Ministry personnel prepare a submersible craft Tuesday to search for sunken wreckage and victims' remains. Thirteen bodies had been recovered from the Black Sea as of Tuesday morning.

Hide Caption

2 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

A woman lights a candle Tuesday next to makeshift memorial in Sochi, Russia, for Russian activist Elizaveta Glinka, who was killed in the crash. Also presumed dead were nine journalists and more than 60 members of the Russian army's official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble.

Hide Caption

3 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Wreckage from the Tu-154 plane is hauled from the Black Sea late on Monday, December 26.

Hide Caption

4 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Emergency crews continue search operations on December 26.

Hide Caption

5 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

People visit a makeshift memorial to victims of the crash at a pier in Sochi on December 26. Russia is observing a national day of mourning for the eight crew and 84 passengers aboard.

Hide Caption

6 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

A Russian police orchestra musician places a flower in tribute to members of the Alexandrov Ensemble outside their home stage building in Moscow on December 26. The popular ensemble was scheduled to perform for Russian pilots in Syria ahead of New Year's Day.

Hide Caption

7 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

People hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the crash on Sunday, December 25, in Sochi.

Hide Caption

8 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Russian emergency personnel work near the site of the crash on December 25. The plane was en route from Moscow to Syria and had stopped in Sochi to refuel.

Hide Caption

9 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Russian emergency workers carry remains from the wreckage of the Tu-154 plane that crashed near Sochi on December 25.

Hide Caption

10 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, speak to members of the media in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 25. Putin has ordered Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to lead an investigation of the crash, Russian news agency Sputnik reported.

Hide Caption

11 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Russian police secure the area near where the plane crashed. In addition to the ensemble, the plane was carrying eight crew, eight soldiers and nine journalists.

Hide Caption

12 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

A man places a candle outside the building of the famed Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian army's official dance and choir company, in Moscow.

Hide Caption

13 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

A man places flowers outside the building of the Alexandrov Ensemble in Moscow on Sunday. Alexander Kibovsky, head of Moscow's culture department, called them "our cultural paratroopers."

Hide Caption

14 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Flowers lay in front of a photo of the Alexandrov Ensemble at the group's building in Moscow. "These people always performed in war zones, they wore uniforms, they brought kindness and light," Kibovsky said.

Hide Caption

15 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Two women stand outside Alexandrov Hall, a rehearsal room of the Alexandrov Ensemble, in Moscow on Sunday. The ensemble, established in 1928, has toured the world performing Russian folk songs, World War II anthems and patriotic music.

Hide Caption

16 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

Photographs of Channel One, NTV and Zvezda TV journalists killed in the plane crash are seen outside the Ostankino Technical Center in Moscow.

Hide Caption

17 of 18

Photos:Russian military plane crashes near Sochi, Russia

A woman lights a candle at a memorial in Moscow.

Hide Caption

18 of 18

Story highlights

More than 60 members of group were on the aircraft

Ensemble immensely popular in Russia

Moscow (CNN)Russia is mourning its "cultural paratroopers" after more than 60 members of the world famous Alexandrov Ensemble were apparently killed in a plane crash Sunday.

'Disappeared'

A Tupolev Tu-154 plane carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members disappeared from radar Sunday morning local time after taking off from the Adler airport near the Black Sea city, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there are apparently no survivors.

'Shock'

In a statement on Facebook, General Victor Eliseev, conductor and director of the MVD Red Army Choirs, which works under the Ministry for Internal Affairs, said the crash was a "terrible loss for Russian music and art."

JUST WATCHED

Reports: Russian military plane wreckage found in Black Sea

MUST WATCH

"Today we are in shock at the catastrophe in which our colleagues of the Alexandrov Choirs and Dances disappeared," he said.

"Not only were they our colleagues, but a very important military art company.

"I am shocked to learn of the disappearance of their leader, my fellow student and friend General Valery Khalilov, with whom we studied and professed together at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow . It is a terrible loss for Russian music and art."

'Popular'

Alexandrov Ensemble, established in 1928, has toured the world performing Russian folk songs, World War II anthems and patriotic music. Immensely popular, it has been dubbed "Russia's singing weapon."

CNN Map

The ensemble consists of between 100 and 120 members depending on the type of performance given. It includes a choir, a dance troupe and an orchestra. Since their performance at the airbase was going to be mostly a capella, only the choir and a handful dancers were aboard the plane, Russian media reported.

"The orchestra did not fly because [the choir] was supposed to use pre-recorded music," choir singer Sergei Khlopnikov, who didn't make the trip because his daughter was sick, told the Interfax news agency.